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4. Cancelled Oct 27, 2025

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In the aftermath of the Bill Grundy interview, the Sex Pistols became Britain’s most notorious band, not for their music, but for the chaos that followed. To some, they were a threat to society itself, and instead of ignoring them, middle England lost its collective mind.

Episode 4 of the Rise and Fall of Sex Pistols plunges into the wreckage of that moment: a UK tour collapsing date by date, sackings from two major labels in just six months, and how manager Malcolm McLaren spun outrage into art.

From smashed toilets to moral panic, from Caerphilly to Buckingham Palace, this is the story of how doing nothing made the Pistols more famous than ever.

Episode 4 features archive interviews from: Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Malcolm McLaren and Sid Vicious alongside a brand-new interview with punk author and historian Chris Sullivan.

Presented by Gina Birch and Steve Lamacq

A BBC Audio Production

3. The Filth and the Fury Oct 27, 2025

Show notes

In just three months, the Sex Pistols went from unknowns to the most feared band in Britain. After headlining the infamous 100 Club Punk Festival, they landed a major-label deal with EMI and released their debut single, Anarchy in the UK.

Radio wouldn’t touch it, and record shops banned it. No matter, as within weeks the Pistols were on everyone’s lips… for an entirely different reason.

Episode 3 of The Rise and Fall of Sex Pistols focuses on one of the most notorious moments in British television history. A half-cut band. A smirking presenter. A live broadcast that shattered the illusion of polite British youth.

Within 24 hours, the headlines screamed “The Filth and the Fury!” and the nation erupted. Gigs were cancelled. Politicians raged. Record label shareholders revolted. EMI, who had only just signed the band, were already trying to distance themselves.

This was the moment Britain met punk at teatime… and it never recovered.

Episode 3 features archive interviews from: Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Vivienne Westwood, Paul Cook and Malcolm McLaren

Presented by Gina Birch and Steve Lamacq

A BBC Audio Production

2. Year Zero Oct 27, 2025

Show notes

Britain in the summer of 1976 was hot, angry, on strike and broke; a country on the brink. In the shadows, four raw, unpolished young punks were limbering up on the sidelines, unaware of the impact they would make.

From half-empty art school shows to now-legendary gigs at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall and London’s 100 Club Punk Festival, Episode 2 takes you inside the band’s earliest and most shambolic shows.

At the heart of it all: a band more interested in provocation than perfection. As guitarist Steve Jones told the NME during this period: “We’re not into music, we’re into chaos.”

Fights broke out, glasses were thrown, and punk ripped itself from the underground onto the front pages. The Pistols were forming a following, and they were soundtracking a country crying out for change.

The Sex Pistols were ready to deliver it, whether Britain wanted it or not.

Episode 2 features archive interviews from: Johnny Rotten, Glen Matlock, London club promoter Jack Barrie, Paul Cook, Peter Hook from Joy Division and New Order, Sid Vicious, Siouxsie Sioux, Malcolm McLaren and 100 Club promoter Ron Watts.

Alongside this, there is a new interview from TV Smith from The Adverts.

Presented by Gina Birch and Steve Lamacq

A BBC Audio Production

1. No Future Oct 27, 2025

Show notes

“Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” spat a deflated Johnny Rotten before walking off stage in San Francisco. The Sex Pistols were finished. One album, a handful of singles, and a trail of chaos that changed British music.

But where did it all begin? How did a green-haired kid from Finsbury Park, nearly killed by meningitis and raised in poverty, end up fronting the most incendiary band in British history?

In Episode 1 of The Rise and Fall of Sex Pistols, Gina Birch, a founding member of The Raincoats, and Steve Lamacq drag you back to the murky mid-70s and dive into the turbulent origins of punk’s most iconic band.

From stolen Bowie gear to backroom pub auditions, this is a story of disillusioned youth, of a fetish shop on the King’s Road, of a snarling, short-sighted teenager, and of a chaotic Britain. The perfect breeding ground for a cultural revolution that the Sex Pistols were being primed to lead.

Featuring archive interviews with: John Lydon, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock, Paul Cook, Malcolm McLaren, Vivienne Westwood and Bob Geldof.

Presented by Gina Birch and Steve Lamacq

A BBC Audio Production

8. Not Nineteen Forever Jul 25, 2025

Show notes

So here we are, twenty years on...

The UK indie guitar scene was a brief, bright moment where exciting new bands emerged from all corners of the UK, and made themselves available to fans. It was a time when young people controlled the culture and left the major record labels in the dust. It was an intoxicating era of community, messiness and hedonism. And actually, there is a hunger for all of that now. Many of the bands from that time are still going, and are playing to more people than they ever have before. The UK Indie Explosion holds a fascination for those audiences too young to have experienced it firsthand, and those Gen Z-ers have popularised the term ‘indie sleaze’. Meanwhile, guitar music is cool again, with the likes of English Teacher, Wet Leg, and Wolf Alice leading a rock revival.

Presented by Kate Nash Produced by Jack Howson & Rich Power A Peanut & Crumb production for BBC Sounds & 6 Music Commissioners for the BBC were Will Wilkin and Hannah Clapham

The producers would like to extend deep thanks to: Ed Greig for additional (early noughties) production heard across the series David Crackles for engineering every episode The BBC Archive team, namely David Hyde, Joseph Schultz, and Colin Waddell

7. Bang Bang You're Dead Jul 25, 2025

Show notes

Just six action-packed years after the start of the UK indie sleaze music scene, The Word magazine coins the derisory term “Landfill Indie” to describe the oversaturation of guitar music, turning the entire genre into a joke. Major labels are falling over themselves to sign the next big indie thing, but many of these hopefuls aren’t ready for the limelight. And audiences seem ready for a new, entirely different, sound ... one that's less male-dominated, for starters. Cue Kate Nash, Adele, Laura Marling, Florence Welch and co.

Featured interviewees include Alexandra Haddow, Johnny Borrell, Tara Joshi, Alex Kapranos, Paul Smith and Gary Jarman Presented by Kate Nash Produced by Jack Howson & Rich Power A Peanut & Crumb production for BBC Sounds & 6 Music

Warning: this episode contains strong language and adult themes.

6. When The Sun Goes Down Jul 25, 2025

Show notes

The UK indie guitar music scene hits the tabloids. Johnny Borrell, Pete Doherty and Luke Pritchard partner up with A-List celebrity girlfriends. Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse become unhealthy media obsessions. And most shockingly of all, Preston from the Ordinary Boys goes on Celebrity Big Brother and actually has a great time. This red top frenzy builds to a messy crescendo that includes phone hacking, divorce, band break-ups, and a devastating fatality.

Featured interviewees include Alexandra Haddow, Pete Doherty, Samuel Preston, Tara Joshi, Johnny Borrell and Luke Pritchard Presented by Kate Nash Produced by Jack Howson & Rich Power A Peanut & Crumb production for BBC Sounds & 6 Music

Warning: this episode contains strong language, adult themes and descriptions of drug use, which some listeners may find distressing. Details of help and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

5. Can't Stand Me Now Jul 25, 2025

Show notes

What’s a music scene without fighting and feuding? Brace yourself for Art Brut versus Bloc Party, Razorlight versus The Kooks, and The Libertines versus themselves. With all the booze, drugs, and partying, things are bound to get messy. Especially at the notorious NME Awards, where Ryan Jarman of the Cribs has a near death experience.

Featured interviewees include Luke Pritchard, Johnny Borrell, Eddie Argos, Pete Doherty and Ryan Jarman. Presented by Kate Nash Produced by Jack Howson & Rich Power A Peanut & Crumb production for BBC Sounds & 6 Music

Warning: this episode contains strong language, adult themes and descriptions of drug use, which some listeners may find distressing. Details of help and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

4. Golden Touch Jul 25, 2025

Show notes

2005 to '06 is the pinnacle of UK Indie Sleaze, as Razorlight, Arctic Monkeys, The Kaiser Chiefs and The Kooks well and truly take over the mainstream. Scrappy guitar bands are now dominating the BRIT Awards and playing to an audience of 2 billion at Live 8. But with success comes the inevitable backlash...

Featured interviewees include Johnny Borrell and Luke Pritchard Presented by Kate Nash Produced by Jack Howson & Rich Power A Peanut & Crumb production for BBC Sounds & 6 Music

Warning: this episode contains strong language, adult themes and descriptions of drug use, which some listeners may find distressing. Details of help and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

3. Hey Scenesters! Jul 25, 2025

Show notes

A new tribe is born: The Indie. You can spot an Indie a mile off. They are in skinny jeans, scarves, and trilbies, in a random configuration designed to look as dirty and debauched as possible. The early internet - MySpace and band forums - solidifies this fun new scene, and breaks down barriers between artist and fan. 'Guerilla Gigs' become a thing, with spontaneous shows sprouting up in funeral parlours, tube trains, pub roofs ... and drug dens.

Featured interviewees include Alexandra Haddow, Gary Jarman and Pete Doherty Presented by Kate Nash Produced by Jack Howson & Rich Power A Peanut & Crumb production for BBC Sounds & 6 Music

Warning: this episode contains strong language, adult themes and descriptions of drug use, which some listeners may find distressing. Details of help and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

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